2011 MotoGP Motegi Photos

September 30, 2011

Jorge Lorenzo: "It is going to be a very difficult weekend to fight for the podium and the victory. We are trying some things on the bike to improve the stability on braking and into corners. We found a little but still need to find some more! We are fifth which could be worse today.”

Casey Stoner ran out of time to make corrections in the final practice session but knows what direction he needs to take.

Carlos Checa: "We thought that we’d be able to fight for a position on the front row and we managed to do that today."

Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo managed to get his M1 perfected during qualifying to secure a front row start.

Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner set a new record after earning his tenth pole victory of the season at Motegi.

Dani Pedrosa (#26) earned his third win of the season after capitalizing on the errors of his teammates.

Jorge Lorenzo delivered a flawless performance to take second on the podium at the Grand Prix of Japan.

Honda's Casey Stoner recovered from a brake problem to finish on the podium in third.

Casey Stoner left Japan disappointed after being unable to challenge for the win.

Casey Stoner: "I’m disappointed because in some ways we’re lucky we still ended up on the podium, but I feel we should have been fighting for that win and it’s disappointing.”

Andrea Dovizioso is still deciding between riding for LCR Honda or Monster Yamaha Tech 3 next year.

Rumors are circulating that Marc Marquez will ride a Honda RC213V in the upcoming season.

Jorge Lorenzo - 2011 Motegi MotoGP

Ben Spies: "If we had a clean race we could have battled for the podium. But that’s racing and we got the short end of the stick."

Valentino Rossi: "“We tried to work on the weight distribution and especially move my position on the bike [at Jerez].

Alvaro Bautista is still awaiting news from Suzuki on whether it will participate in the 2012 MotoGP Championship.

Alvaro Bautista: "I didn’t get a good start because some riders jump-started and I was a bit confused by them and when the red light went off I was little bit late."

Cal Crutchlow salvaged 11th place having twice run off the circuit while trying to fight his way into the top-10.

Andrea Dovizioso - 2011 MotoGP Motegi Free Practice

In addition to Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso is the second Honda rider starting on the front row at the team's home race.

Starting from 14th, Colin Edwards kept his composure as the chaotic action unfolded in front of him to move into eighth position on Lap 18.

Nicky Hayden: "We were all racing, and it was normal for the first lap. I got into a pretty good rhythm, and when Casey came past me, I wanted to try to follow him past Bautista, but I came in way too hot and went off the track. It’s a shame, because with everybody making mistakes, I had a chance to get us a good result."

Marc Marquez achieved his seventh pole victory of the season at Motegi after a final lap charge.

Marco Simoncelli: "The start has gone really well, but for the moment there is still not a lot of grip in the rear. Tomorrow we will try to find solutions to improve this problem with a set-up better suited to give us more confidence. This is our goal and if we can get it, I'm convinced I can qualify in a good position for Sunday's race."

After a race long battle Andrea Iannone won his third race of the year ahead of Marc Marquez.

After jumping the start Marco Simoncelli made a pass on Andrea Dovizioso during the penultimate lap for fourth.

Jorge Lorenzo was one of the few top-seven riders who performed flawlessly at Motegi and finished second.

Dani Pedroda: "Everybody here at the Motegi circuit has done a very good job with the new surface, the grip is much better than before and this is one of the reasons why the lap times have improved quite a lot already from last year."

Dani Pedroa led Repsol Honda's assault on the timesheets during practice just 0.054 seconds ahead of Casey Stoner.

Valentino Rossi: "It’s really a shame to be out of the race after two corners, especially after the progress that we made this weekend, and with the knowledge that we’d worked on the bike well."

Ben Spies is trying to recover from food poisoning and had to retire early from practice on Friday.

Casey Stoner: "Unfortunately we went in slightly the wrong direction and couldn't get the bike to turn or hook up on the last two exits and then we didn't really have enough time to come in and make a change. We know what direction we want to go in now and hopefully tomorrow we can make the small improvements."